Cleaning really old brass horn

[Rob]

Looking for some knowledge as to how to clean my helicon. It's from 1925 or 1927(can't remember at the moment), I'm pretty sure it's raw brass or has become raw brass. There is no evidence of lacquer that I can tell(I'm guessing perhaps these might not have been lacquered to begin with?). I've tried a little bit of Brasso and it appears that it might work but not in the time frame and muscle usage I'm looking to invest. My research seems to indicate vinegar, and perhaps even hot vinegar might work well. So...any help would be greatly appreciated as tuba Xmas is coming and it's really not much to look at.

Thanks,
Rob

[imperialbari]

Clean it with a soft (& clean) cotton rag and a few drops of valve oil to remove greasy and sticky dirt and then sing with the fabulous four:

Let it be!

Long ago bloke wrote that the best preservation of raw brass is the brown patina (but certainly not the gree), which develops over time if stored reasonably dry.

Abrassive fluids and/or zealous polishing removes metal from your instrument. All these anonymous old instruments didn’t start out anonymous. Their engravings have been polished away.

K, whos instruments would be perfect for a performance of “Black, brown, and beige” long before he knew bloke.

[Dan Schultz]

I think Brasso is the worst stuff on the planet! It leaves behind loads of nasty black residue that seems to take forever to get rid of. If you really would rather have a shiny horn instead of just allowing it to develop a protective patina.... about the best stuff I've seen for polishing brass is Simichrome. It's expensive and it's still going to take some 'elbow grease' to get the job done. Of course, before you do anything, you need to absolutely determine that your horn is free of lacquer.

I used to play in a German group with a fellow who played a tiny Couesnon Eb. He swore by ketchup. He would simply slather it on and then wash it off with dishwashing liquid and water. Apparently there is enough acid in ketchup to do the job.... without using any elbow grease. I've only tried it on small areas just to confirm that it works.

[Rob]

Let it be!

I would probably let it be, but I'm going to be taking it to have it completely restored in a few months, and I am thinking that taking it apart, de-denting and then putting it back together will be facilitated by cleaning it up as I doubt it can be fully restored and left "brown".

I think Brasso is the worst stuff on the planet!

Well I certainly haven't been impressed with it! I'll be looking it to the Simichrome, though I will first take a short sideline with the ketchup I find in the refrigerator.

Thank you both!

[bisontuba]

HiI-
Two other fine polishes are FLITZ metal polish, and one made here in town called A*O*K metal polish by Bison Labs, which AmTrack uses to polish their brass objects.
Regards-
mark
jonestuba@Juno.com" target="_blank

[eupher61]

Nevr Dull Cotton Wadding. Pretty non-abrasive, easy to use, and a lot less smelly than Brasso. A little water on the brass and it works even better.

[PMeuph]

I use Weiman's (Which is suppose to be similar to Wrights')... I've also used Blue magic before.

Flitz and Simichrome are not that easy to find in certain parts of Canada.

________

If you want to clean an instrument, focus on cleaning the inside, not the outside...(ie the parts that actually make a difference to how it plays and sounds)

[scottw]

http://www.capecodpolish.com/" target="_blank
Smells nice, very easy to use and works great w/o a lot of effort. I use it to polish brass for our Civil War uniforms. I let my 1865 saxhorn take on that nice brown patina, so I don't know how it works on something that big. Probably well, though.

[pjv]

There is a difference between just cleaning your axe and polishing it.
Warm water and dishwashing soap or cleaning vinegar (properly diluted) should talk care of any chocolate, beer or guacamole clinging to the horn. Be sure and rinse with water afterwards.

[iiipopes]

There is a difference between just cleaning your axe and polishing it.
Warm water and dishwashing soap or cleaning vinegar (properly diluted) should talk care of any chocolate, beer or guacamole clinging to the horn. Be sure and rinse with water afterwards.

And rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and...you don't want even the slightest residue of the vinegar remaining.

I'm with let it be. If the valves are tight, and the dents do not affect intonation (some even help - like "the" dent to get low C on an F tuba), then the brown patina is the insurance that the horn will last another 90 years. It may not look the best, but it will survive.

What has not been mentioned in this thread is the mode of care: because corrosion will set in, if it is brown, it is protective. If it is green, it must be removed. If it is red and spongy, then red-rot has set in and new metal is necessary.

Once you start polishing and getting back to shiny metal, then to avoid green and red corrosion, you MUST continue. It will never get the brown patina again. And every time you polish, you remove metal, hence the engravings being gone.

So think very, very carefully before disturbing the brown patina, except for the most necessary of repairs and cleanings.

[Lee Stofer]

I have tried just about every polishing agent known (and am about to go back into the buffing room now), but when I need to do a nice and quick polish on raw brass with little residue and easy clean-up, I use Mother's Mag and Aluminum Wheel Polish, which is available at auto parts stores, motorcycle stores, Wal-Mart and online, I believe. Even if you don't use gloves, it is not hard to wash off of your hands, and will leave a shine similar to that of white rouge compound.

And, once you get the surface clean, you may find identifying marks that were not visible before.